BCA writer serialization management

ABSTRACT

A serialization management system consists of a job control host for assigning serial numbers to storage media, and for generating a job; a replication facility host communicatively coupled to the job control host, wherein the job control host communicates the job to the replication facility host; and a serialization writer communicatively coupled to the replication facility host, wherein the replication facility host controls the serialization writer in response to the job, and communicates status information to the job control host. In another embodiment, the invention can be characterized as method for operating the serialization management system.

[0001] This patent document claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) toU.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/244,558, filed Oct.30, 2000, for ARCHITECTURE FOR A BCA WRITER SYSTEM, the entirety ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention advantageously provides a serializationmanagement system and method.

[0003] In one embodiment, the invention can be characterized as aserialization management system employing a job control host forassigning serial numbers to storage media, and for generating a job; areplication facility host communicatively coupled to the job controlhost, wherein the job control host communicates the job to thereplication facility host; and a serialization writer communicativelycoupled to the replication facility host, wherein the replicationfacility host controls the serialization writer in response to the job,and communicates status information to the job control host.

[0004] In a variation of this embodiment, a serialization writer consoleis coupled to the serialization writer, the serialization writer consoleprompting the replication facility host for a batch by communicating abatch request to the replication facility host; wherein the replicationfacility host communicates to the serialization writer, in response tothe batch request, batch data, the batch data being generated by thereplication facility host as a function of the job.

[0005] In another embodiment, the invention can be characterized as aserialization management method having steps of assigning serial numbersto storage media in a job control host; generating a job in the jobcontrol host; communicating the job to a replication facility host;controlling a serialization writer in response to the job; andcommunicating status information to the job control host.

[0006] In a variation of this method, such method has the further stepof prompting the replication facility host for a batch by communicatinga batch request to the replication facility host; generating batch dataat the replication facility host as a function of the job; andcommunicating to the serialization writer, in response to the batchrequest, the batch data.

[0007] In another variation of this method, such method has theadditional steps of writing serialization onto media with theserialization writer in response to the batch data.

[0008] In yet a further variation of this method, such method has thefurther additional steps of receiving a job complete indicia at areplication facility console; communicating the job complete indicia tothe replication facility host; generating a job complete status in thereplication facility host in response to the job complete indicia; andcommunicating the job complete status to the job control host.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will be more apparent from the following moreparticular description thereof, presented in conjunction with thefollowing drawings wherein:

[0010]FIG. 1 is hardware block diagram of a BCA writer serializationmanagement system in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a BCA writer serializationmanagement system, such as in FIG. 1, in accordance with the oneembodiment;

[0012]FIG. 3 is high-level block diagram illustrating workflow in a BCAwriter serialization management system, such as in FIG. 1;

[0013]FIG. 4 is a work flow diagram illustrating steps traversed by aBCA writer serialization management system such as in FIG. 1;

[0014]FIG. 5 is block diagram illustrating display screens for a consoleof a job control host of the BCA writer serialization management systemof FIG. 1, and navigational relationships between such display screens;

[0015]FIG. 6 is an illustration of a job status display screen for theconsole of the job control host of the BCA writer serializationmanagement system of FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 7 is an illustration of an edit jobs display screen for theconsole of the job control host of the BCA writer serializationmanagement system of FIG. 1;

[0017]FIG. 8 is an illustration of a serialization data display screenfor the console of the job control host of the BCA writer serializationmanagement system of FIG. 1;

[0018]FIG. 9 is an illustration of a replication facilities maintenanceand status display screen for the console of the job control host of theBCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1;

[0019]FIG. 10 is block diagram illustrating display screen for a consoleof a job control host of the BCA writer serialization management systemof FIG. 1, and navigational relationships between such display screens;

[0020]FIG. 11 is an illustration of a replication facility job statusdisplay screen for the console of the replication facility host of theBCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1;

[0021]FIG. 12 is an illustration of a serialization data display screenfor the console of the replication facility host of the BCA writerserialization management system of FIG. 1; and

[0022]FIG. 13 is an illustration of a BCA writers maintenance and statusdisplay screen for the console of the replication facility host of theBCA writer serialization management system of FIG. 1.

[0023] Corresponding reference characters indicate correspondingcomponents throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] The following description of the presently contemplated best modeof practicing the invention is not to be taken in a limiting sense, butis made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles ofthe invention. The scope of the invention should be determined withreference to the claims.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, a hardware block diagram is shown of aserialization writer, e.g., a BCA writer, serialization managementsystem 100 in accordance with one embodiment, and, simultaneouslyreferring to FIG. 2, a functional block diagram is shown of a BCA writerserialization management system 100, such as in FIG. 1, in accordancewith the one embodiment.

[0026] The present embodiment is directed to a turnkey serialization andcontrol system for use within multiple replication facilities 202, 202′,202″, such as DVD or other media replication facilities that can controlmultiple serialization writers, such as BCA writers. The serializationand control system employs a master control host 102 for receipt andtransmission of serialization information.

[0027] Serialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206′, 208′, 210′, e.g., BCAwriters of various manufacturers are preferably supported, and theserialization and control system is preferably scalable to multiplereplication facilities 202, 202′, 204′, and multiple serializationwriters 206, 208, 210, 206′, 208′, 210′, e.g., BCA writers, perreplication facility.

[0028] The serialization and control system can be controlled from themaster control host 102. The master control host 102 automaticallyupdates a central database 212 during BCA writing, and the centraldatabase 212 can be used, for example, for authentication and trackingof serialized media.

[0029] Work orders can be spread across multiple replication facilities202, 202′, 202″ and serialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206′, 208′,210′, e.g., BCA writers, within a replication facility.

[0030] In accordance with the present embodiment, the serializationwriters 206, 208, 210, 206′, 208′, 210′ also perform verification ofserialization information, e.g., the BCA numbers, having been written.The central database 212 is updated to reflect whether a BCA number isread during verification, or whether a read attempt during verificationfails. The BCA number written to media for which verification fails isnot used on any other media, which helps to prevent/detect piracy sinceno number can be used twice.

[0031] The serialization and control system also supports double sidedmedia, and allows for a BCA number to be applied to each side of thedouble sided media, such as double sided a DVD disc, so that the side ofthe media that is accessed, e.g., played, can be tracked. The writing ofthe BCA numbers to double sided media is effected by offsetting thelaser on each side media so as to burn down through the media and notinterfere with the BCA number on the other side of the media. Twodifferent BCA numbers are applied to each side of the media.

[0032] The serialization and control system of the present embodimentincludes: a master control host 102 comprising a control server, such asan Intel-based personal computer, at a central location, connected andinterfaced with (such as through a network 106, such as a TCP/IP basedEthernet network) individual replication control hosts 104, 104′ atmultiple replication facilities 202, 202′, 202″, and employing anoperating system, such as Windows NT/2000 from Microsoft of Washington,U.S.A.; and a replication control host 104, 104′ comprising amulti-processor control host, such as a multi-processor Intel-basedpersonal computer, at a replication facility 202, 202′, 202″, connectedand interfaced with (such as through a network 108, such as a TCP/IPbased Ethernet network) individual BCA writers 206, 208, 210, 206′,208′, 210′ at the replication facility, and employing an operatingsystem, such as Linux, an open-source operating system.

[0033] Note that in an alternative embodiment, where, for example, onlya single replication facility is used, the job control host and thereplication facility host may be implemented on a single personalcomputer.

[0034] Thus, the serialization and control system of the presentembodiment includes two major subsystems. The first subsystem (thereplication control hosts 104, 104′) resides at a replication facility202, 202′, 202″ and manages the application of specific data sets(“serial numbers”) to media, such as DVD discs. The second subsystem(the master control host 102) resides at a centralized facility 110,110′, 110″ and manages the creation of serial number sets and theirassignment to specification replication facilities. A replicationcontrol host 202, 202′, 202″ (or replication facility host 202, 202′,202″) can take job sets from multiple master control hosts 102 (or jobcontrol hosts 102), and similarly a job control host 102 can providedata sets to multiple replication facility hosts 104, 104′.

[0035] The serialization and control system further includes (or iscoupled to) one or more serialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206′, 208′,210′, such as BCA writers 206, 208, 210, 206′, 208′, 210′, at thereplication facility 202, 202′, 202″.

[0036] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a block diagram is shown illustratinga high-level system architecture for a serialization and control system.

[0037] The serialization and control system includes three maincomponents:

[0038] 1. The Job Control Host 102

[0039] A centralized system that creates and manages batches of serialnumbers (jobs). The jobs are assigned to specific replication facilities202, 202′, 202″. The job control host 102 manages the assignment,transmission, and tracking of jobs to any number of replicationfacilities 202, 202′, 202″. The job control host is typically owned andmanaged by or for a content owner producing media, such as discs.

[0040] 2. The Replication Facility Host 104, 104′

[0041] A system that resides within a specific replication facility 202,202′, 202″ and manages the application of the serial number batches(jobs) to actual DVD discs. The jobs may be assigned by any number ofjob control hosts. The replication facility host 104, 104′ communicatesand inter-operates with one or more BCA writers 206, 208, 210, 206′,208′, 210′ within the replication facility 202, 202′, 202″ to accomplishthis task. The replication facility host 104, 104′ should preferably bea high availability system as its failure will cause all attachedserialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206′, 208′, 210′ to be unusable.The replication control host 104, 104′ manages workload amongst theserialization writers 206, 208, 210, 206′, 208′, 210′ at the replicationfacility, including splitting work orders amongst multiple sterilizationwriters.

[0042] 3. The Serialization Writers 206, 208, 210, 206′, 208′, 210′

[0043] A sophisticated piece of machinery that performs the actualapplication of a serial number (i.e., serialization) to, e.g., the BCAfield of a DVD on a production line. There are two known types of BCAwriters from Panasonic and Robi Systems. These writers, typically, canapply the BCA mark at line speeds (3-4 seconds per disc). The BCAwriters communicate with the replication facility host 104, 104′ usingTCP/IP over an Ethernet connection. The present document does notdiscuss the BCA writers other than how they interface to the replicationfacility host 104, 104′, as such BCA writers are well known in the art.

[0044] Referring next to FIG. 3, a high-level block diagram is shownillustrating workflow in the serialization writer serializationmanagement system, and simultaneously referring to FIG. 4, a work flowdiagram is shown illustrating steps traversed by the BCA writerserialization management system. These diagrams illustrate a typicalflow of a job through the serialization and control system. Time isindicated vertically in FIG. 4 and flows from the top to the bottom(i.e., later-occurring events are depicted below earlier-occurringevents).

[0045] 1. At the outset a new production job 302 is created at a jobcontrol console 402—job status entered

[0046] 2. The job 404 is transferred to a replication facility host304—job status pending

[0047] 3. Operator assigns 406 a disk master ID for the job on thereplication facility host console 408—job status assigned

[0048] 4. The following steps repeat until the job is marked complete byan operator:

[0049] 4.1. A BCA machine operator initializes 410, 410′ a serializationproduction run on a BCA writer 414, 414′,

[0050] 4.1.1. If this is the first serialization run for a job, jobstatus becomes in process,

[0051] 4.2. The BCA machine operator inserts disks 416, 416′ in BCAwriter 414, 414′ and issues a command to start producing disks for agiven job,

[0052] 4.3. The following steps repeat until the BCA machine operatorterminates the serialization production run:

[0053] 4.3.1. The BCA writer requests a batch 418, 418′ of serializationdata for the job from the replication facility host 304 and receivesbatch data 420, 420′ from the replication facility host 304,

[0054] 4.3.2. The BCA writer 414, 414′ writes serialization data ontodisks, and

[0055] 4.3.3. As batches complete, the BCA writer 414, 414′ notifies thereplication facility host 304 and sends the status 422, 422′. Twobatches of 16 serial numbers are always in process per BCA writer,

[0056] 5. The BCA writer operator marks a disk master ID as complete foreach complete job on the replication facility host console 408,

[0057] 6. The replication facility host 408 notifies 424 the job controlhost that the job is completed 426—job status complete

[0058] 7. When confirmation is received from the job control host 428the job is deleted from the replication facility host 304

[0059] 8. The job is exported from the job control console 430—jobstatus final.

[0060] The job control host 428 of the present embodiment includes acollection of Windows NT tasks that collectively implement the jobcontrol host function. The user interface for the job control host 428is a windows based interface.

[0061] The Windows NT task that implements the user interface for thejob control host 428 is used to manage and display the status ofproduction jobs.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 5, a block diagram is shown illustratingdisplay screens for a console of a job control host of the serializationwriter serialization management system, and navigational relationshipsbetween such display screens. The console has three main screens: JobStatus 502, Serialization Data 504, and Replication Facilities 506. Thethree main screens are accessed by tabs at the top of each of the threemain screens.

[0063] The Job Status screen 502 has an additional sub-screen, Edit Job508, which is accessed by clicking a New Job or Edit Job button on theJob Status screen.

[0064] Referring to FIG. 6, an illustration is shown of a job statusscreen 502 for the console of a job control host of the serializationwriter serialization management system. This is the main screen for allJob management. From here the operator is able to create, assign, track,and finalize jobs. This screen provides an overview of the current Jobstatus, and provides convenient mechanisms for all Job managementfunctions. Job Status 504, Clicking on one of these tabs brings the JobSerialization Status, Serialization Data, or Replication Data 506,Facilities screen forward. Replication Facilities 508 tabs Job/Disk ID/Contains a list of production jobs in the Status List 510 system, andeach jobs Disk ID and Status. The jobs may be sorted by clicking on theJob 512, Disk ID 514, or Status 516 column headings. Buttons such asPrint Job Report 518 operate on the jobs selected in this list.Double-clicking on a job brings up the Edit Job screen. New Job 522Creates a new job and brings up the Edit Job window. Edit Job 524 Bringsup the Edit Job window. Select All 526 Selects all the jobs in the list.Clear All 528 Clears all the jobs in the list. Delete Job 530 Clickingdeletes the selected job. A confirm dialog box will appear. A job canonly be deleted if its status is Pending or Hold. Deleted jobs are notreally deleted, but rather are finalized and will no longer appear asactive jobs in the jobs screen. Thus if any serial numbers have beenused (i.e. applied to a disc) the job will remain in the job database toallow for duplicate serial number checking. Show Finalized Displays alist of finalized jobs in the job Jobs 532 list area. A finalized jobhas completed production and has had its serialized data exported.Hold/Release Clicking puts all selected job(s) on Hold. Job(s) 534 Aconfirmation with a dialog box will appear. Any job may be placed onhold, although until the hold has been confirmed by the replicationfacility, status will only show hold pending. The hold will not becomeeffective at the replication facility until any active BCA markingsession is complete. Once on hold, a job can be released at which timeits status will become Assigned. Export/Finalize Exports theserialization data for the Job(s) 536 selected job(s) and mark the jobas finalized. The exported file is in a comma separated value (CSV)format. Print Job Prints a report of the selected job(s). Report 518

[0065] Referring to FIG. 7, an illustration is shown of an edit jobscreen 508 for the console of a job control host of the serializationwriter serialization management system. This is the screen used to addor edit jobs. Jobs can only be entered when all information isavailable. Jobs may only be edited before the replication facilityassigns a disk master ID and their status becomes Assigned. Job Name 702The name assigned to the job being created/edited. This is the name/IDthat will be used by the replication facilities to identify theappropriate disc master ID. An error will occur if the name is notunique. Once a jobs status has become Assigned this field will no longerbe editable. Job Description 704 A Description of the current job.Production Quantity 706 Indicates the quantity to be produced. Thequantity to be produced should be enough to allow for normal productionoverage and waste. Once a job's status has become Assigned this fieldwill no longer be editable. Starting Serial Number 708 The startingserial number of the job. A block of sequential serial numbers will bereserved for this job starting at this number and continuing through thequantity being produced. An error will occur if another job has alreadybeen assigned a conflicting serial number range. (Note that a defaultserial number, such as the next unused number, is not displayed becausethe Job Management task has no knowledge of how patterns of serialnumber ranges are assigned.) Once a jobs status has become Assigned thisfield will no longer be editable. Replication Facility 710 Thereplication facility that will be assigned to produce this job. Once ajobs status has become Assigned this field will no longer be editable.Disk ID 712 A unique numeric disc identifier assigned by InterActual.Once a job's status has become Assigned this field will no longer beeditable. Disk Name 714 A unique textual disc identifier assigned byInterActual associated with the Disk ID. This field will automaticallybe filled out and a warning issued if the entered Disk ID has alreadybeen used in another job. Once a job's status has become Assigned thisfield will no longer be editable. Customer ID 716 The ID of the customerthis job is being produced for. Operator ID 718 The Operator ID of theoperator who is entering the new job. The user's login name is used asthe operator ID and is not editable. Log 720 A log of events pertainingto this job. The date and time when jobs are entered or edited, statuschanges, errors, etc. appear in the log. Information pertinent to theevent, such as operator ID, is also logged. Percentage Completed 722Graphical representation of the percentage completion of the job. DiskMaster ID 724 Master ID for the job. New jobs are Pending until a DiskMaster ID is entered by the operator at the Replication Facility. Onceit is entered the Job Control Host is notified and the job statusbecomes Assigned. Quantity Completed 726 The number of disks in thecurrent job that have been produced by the replication facility. Status728 The current status of this job. Failure Count 730 The number offailed serial numbers in this job. Cancel 732 Cancels adding the newjob. Submit Job 734 Submits the new job for production.

[0066] Referring to FIG. 8, an illustration is shown of a serializationdata display screen for the console of a job control host of the BCAwriter serialization management system. This screen allows the operatorto review the serial number set under management. The operator can viewserial number utilization in sequential order or by status. In addition,the serial number data can be written to a file or printed. Note thatonly the export file will contain the full BCA mark data, including theappropriate authentication signatures. Job Status 504, Clicking on oneof these tabs brings, Serialization respectively, the Job Status, Data606, Serialization Data, or Replication Replication Facilities screenforward. Facilities 608 tabs Serialization Lists the serial numberranges of all jobs, Ranges 802 the job the range is contained in, andthe status of each range. The status of each range can be In Process,Good, or Bad. Multiple ranges may be selected for the export command.The ranges may be sorted by clicking on the Range 804, Job 806 or Status808 column headings. Double- clicking on a range switches to the jobscreen positioned to the job the range is contained in. Print Prints areport of the selected Serialization serialization ranges. Report 810Delete Range Deletes the selected range. 812 Range Quantity The numberof serial numbers in the 814 selected range. Job Quantity The number ofdisks in the job of which 820 this serial number is part of.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 9, an illustration is shown of a replicationfacilities maintenance and status display screen 506 for the console ofa job control host of the serialization writer serialization managementsystem. This is the main screen for replication facility maintenance andstatus overviews. From here the operator is able to create, delete, andtrack replication facility host connections. Job Status 604, Clicking onone of these tabs brings Serialization the Job Status. SerializationData, or Data 606, Replication Facilities screen forward. ReplicationFacilities 608 tabs Replication Lists all replication facilities.Facilities 900 Multiple replication facilities may be selected for theprint 904 command. New Replication Adds a new replication facility tothe Facility 906 list. Delete Deletes the selected replicationReplication facility. A confirm dialog will Facility 908 appear. Thereplication facility cannot be deleted if it has any currently assignedjobs. They must first be placed on Hold and/or Finalized. Print 904Prints a report of the selected replication facilities. Facility NameName of the selected replication Name 910 facility. Facility InternetInternet address of the selected Address 912 replication facility.Communication The count of the communication Failures 914 failures tothe selected replication facility. Details of each failure appear in thecommunications log. Clear Log 916 Clears the communication log for theselected replication facility. Clear Counts 918 Clears the communicationfailure count field for the selected replication facility. Test Testscommunications to the selected Communications replication facility. Theresults of 920 the test appear in the communication log. CommunicationLog of all communication between the Log 922 job control host and theselected replication facility host. Assigned List of jobs currentlyassigned to the Jobs 924 selected replication facility. Only jobsassigned by this Job Control Host are shown Double clicking on a job inthe assigned jobs window automatically brings up the Job status screen.

[0068] Referring to FIG. 10, a block diagram is shown illustratingdisplay screens for a console of a job control host of the serializationwriter serialization management system, and navigational relationshipsbetween such display screens. Thus, the console of the replicationfacility host has three main screens: replication facility job status1002, serialization data 1004, and BCA writer maintenance and status1006. The three main screens are accessed by tabs at the top of each ofthe three main screens.

[0069] Referring to FIG. 11, an illustration is shown of a replicationfacility job status display screen 1002 for the console of a replicationfacility host of the BCA writer serialization management system. Thereplication facility job status display screen is used for keeping trackof jobs sent to all replication facilities. A job is entered after aserial number range, job ID, and replication facility are known. Oncethe job is entered it is automatically downloaded to a replicationfacility host at a replication facility. Control of the job is thenpassed to the replication facility host. The replication facility hostperiodically sends a status update the job control host including jobstatuses (see below) for each job that has been sent to, and is beinghandled at, the replication facility of the replication facility host.The job control host may request status changes, but the replicationfacility host actively manages and controls the job.

[0070] Once the job is marked complete by the replication facility host,control of that job is passed back up the job control host, where theoperator is responsible for performing a finalize operation whichresults in an export of the final serial number data and status.

[0071] In accordance with the present embodiment, once entered, jobs maynot be edited. This is due to the fact that in normal operations thejobs will quickly be downloaded to the replication facility host, andonce downloaded, control of that job is passed to the replicationfacility host. Thus, if a job has errors and needs to be corrected, itshould be placed on hold status when it is initially entered, thendeleted/finalized, and then taken off of hold status. Any used serialnumbers from hold/deleted jobs are not reused.

[0072] As also noted above, job statuses are:

[0073] Entered

[0074] The job has been defined, but not downloaded to its replicationfacility host.

[0075] Pending

[0076] The job has been downloaded to the replication facility host butno data has been received in a status update or in response to a statuschange request indicating that that the serialization of the job hasbegun.

[0077] Assigned

[0078] The job has been assigned a disc master ID by the replicationfacility host, but serialization has not yet begun.

[0079] Inprocess

[0080] Serialization of the job has begun, but an indication that thejob is complete has not yet been received.

[0081] Complete

[0082] The replication facility host has marked the job as completed.

[0083] Finalized

[0084] Recordation/storing of completed serial number data has beenperformed, such as by saving the completed serial number data in a file.

[0085] Holdpending

[0086] A Hold of the job has been requested, but not yet acknowledged bythe replication facility host. This status is used when a particular jobneeds to be cancelled or work held for some reason, and a request tohold such job had been made at the job control host, but not yetacknowledged by the replication facility host.

[0087] Hold

[0088] The job has been placed on hold in the replication facility host.

[0089] Jobs are preferably exported in a comma separated value (CSV)format suitable for importing into programs such as Microsoft Excel, orinto a serialization database, such as a Microsoft Access database, oran Oracle Database. Each job is exported into a separate file, i.e., aseparate comma separated value file.

[0090] A first line of the comma separated value file containsinformation pertaining to the overall job including the Job Name, JobStatus, Replication Facility, disk identifier (e.g., an InterActual diskidentifier), Disk Master ID, Production Quantity, Quantity Completed,and Job Control Host Operator ID. Subsequent lines each containinformation for one serialization range including the fields StartingSerial Number, Status, Quantity, BCA writer operator ID, BCA writer ID,starting date/time, and ending date/time.

[0091] A job control database, such as a Microsoft Access or Oracledatabase, contains data relating to all production jobs in the systemsuch as serialization information, assigned replication facilities, jobquantities, job status, etc.

[0092] A format for the job control database is as follows: Job DatabaseFormat Field Name Field Type Example Job Name String Herndon, ProductionQuantity 32-bit 50000, integer Replication Facility String WAMO,Olyphant PA Starting Serial Number 32-bit 100 integer Number of Unitsassigned 32-bit Number of units which integer have been assigned to thisJob at job creation Job Status String In Process Description StringMatrix, special feature— Warner Brothers. Date/time created Time Dec 10,2000 4:15 PM (32-bit integer- sec. since 1980?) Date/time downloaded toTime Dec 10, 2000 10:37 PM replication facility First Serializationapplied Time Dec 11, 2000 8:03 AM Job Completed Time Dec 15, 2000 1:31PM Serial Number Range Count 32-bit 3 integer Serial Number StartInteger [] 100, 724, 730 Serial Number Quantity Integer [] 624, 6, 50100Serial Number Range Status Integer [] GOOD, BAD, Unknown

[0093] The following is an explanation of the possible values for serialnumber range Status:

[0094] Good—Disks in this range were successfully produced

[0095] Bad—Disks in this range were bad

[0096] Unknown—Disks in this range have an unknown status, serial numberassigned to replication machine, but results undefined. These serialnumbers may appear in the field.

[0097] All other serial numbers in the assigned range, but withoutdetailed records are assumed to be unknown until the job status isClosed, at which time they are given the status Assigned.

[0098] A database of all known replication facilities, i.e., areplication facilities database, is also maintained at the job controlhost. In accordance with the present embodiment, the replicationfacilities database is a simple text file having one replicationfacility per line. Each line contains the following fields separated bycommas: Replication Facility Database Format Field Name Field TypeExample ID String Herndon Internet String herndon.xyzzy.com addressDate/time TIME Oct 5, 2000 11:05 am Created

[0099] As mentioned above, a replication facility host is a Linux basedpersonal computer that is optimized for high availability (HA)operation, such as by having redundant systems, such as hard drives,power supplies, interface cards, processors, etc. The replicationfacility host is responsible for providing real-time management for agroup of BCA writers that do the actual writing of BCA's to discs.

[0100] The principle task of the replication facility host is to keeptrack of jobs currently under production and assigning new productionbatches to each BCA writer as batch requests are received from the jobcontrol host.

[0101] The following summarizes the various job control commands thatthe replication facility host may receive from the job control host viathe network: Job Control Commands (received from Job Control Hosts) AddJob Add a new production job Replication String ID of ReplicationFacility Facility ID assigned to this Job Job ID String ID of this jobProduction Integer Quantity Serial number String ??? SN%d formatStarting Integer Serial Number Delete Job Delete an existing productionjob Replication String ID of Replication Facility Facility ID assignedto this job. Job ID String ID of this job. Hold Job Hold an existingproduction job Replication String ID of Replication Facility Facility IDassigned to this job. Job ID String ID of this job. Continue JobContinue an existing stopped production job Replication String ID ofReplication Facility Facility ID assigned to this Job Job ID StringBatch Commands (received from BCA Writer Interfaces)— see BCA WriterInterface

[0102] A Job/Batch Console/Replication Job Management Task provides auser interface for the replication facility host. The console allows theoperator of the replication facility host to assign and monitor jobs andBCA writers. The operator of the console is typically a back-officeemployee who has operational oversight of the overall job processesflow.

[0103] The Job/Batch Console/Replication Job Management Task has threemain screens that are displayed on the replication facility hostconsole: Job Status, Serialization Data 1104, and BCA Machines 1106. Inaccordance with the present embodiment, these three main screens areaccessed by tabs at a top of each of the three main screens.

[0104] The Job Status display screen has the following: Job Status 1102,Clicking on one of these tabs brings Serialization the Job Status,Serialization Data, or Data 1104, BCA BCA Machines screen forward.Machines 1106 tabs Job Listing 1108 Contains a list of production jobsat this replication facility, their status, and their source (the JobControl Host that assigned the job). Selecting 1110 a job will cause itsstatus to be displayed in the Job Status portion of the window. Multiplejobs may be selected for the print command. The jobs may be sorted byclicking on the Job 1112, Status 1114 or Source 1116 column headings.Double-clicking on a job to switches to the serialization screenpositioned to that jobs serialization data. Job Complete 1118 Clickingafter all disks are produced indicates a job is complete. The JobControl Host is notified and when an acknowledgement is received the jobis deleted from the Replication Facility Host. Print Job Report Prints areport of the selected 1120 job(s). Disk Master ID ID for disk beingserialized. New 1122 jobs are Pending until a Disk Master ID is enteredby the operator at the Replication Facility. Once it is entered the JobControl Host is notified and the job status becomes Assigned. Once theserialization has begun the Disk Master ID can no longer be changed. TheDisk Master ID does not have to be unique. It is used by the replicationfacility to identify the disk being serialized and may apply to multiplejobs. For example, if the production quantity of a disk increases, a newjob may be added for the additional quantity. A warning will be issuedwhen this occurs. When multiple jobs with the same Disk Master ID existthey are treated as a single job from the point of view of the BOAwriter operator—when the serial numbers from one job are exhausted theserial numbers from the next job will be used. The jobs are processed inthe order entered (the oldest first). InterActual Disk A unique discidentifier assigned by a ID 1124 management entity, for example,InterActual. Percentage The completion percentage of the Completed 1126selected job. Quantity The number of disks in the selected Completed1128 job that have been produced by the replication facility. ProductionThe total number of disks to be Quantity 1130 produced in this job.Starting Serial The starting serial number for this Number 1132 job. Theserial numbers for this job are sequential starting at this number. JobSource 1134 The name of the Job Control Host from which this Joboriginated. Failure Count The number of failed serial numbers in 1136this job.

[0105] Referring to FIG. 12, an illustration is shown of a serializationdata display screen 1004 for the console of a replication facility hostof the BCA writer serialization management system.

[0106] A serialization management screen includes the followingfeatures: Job Status 1102, Clicking on one of these tabs bringsSerialization the Job Status, Serialization Data, or Data 1104, BCA BCAMachines screen forward. Machines 1106 tabs Serialization Lists theserial number ranges of all Range list 1202 jobs at this replicationfacility, and the status of each range. The status of each range can beIn Process, Good, or Bad. Multiple ranges may be selected for the printcommand. The ranges may be sorted by clicking on the Range 1204, Status1206, or Job 1208 column headings. Double-clicking on a range switchesto the BCA writer screen positioned to the BCA writer producing therange. Print Prints a report of the selected Serialization serializationrange(s). Report 1210 Operator ID 1212 The ID of the operator who wasrunning the BCA machine when the selected range of disks was produced.BCA Writer ID The ID of the BCA machine that 1214 produced the selectedrange of disks. Write_time 1216 Date/Time that this range was begun. JobID The ID of the job for which the selected range is a part.

[0107] Referring to FIG. 13, A BCA Machine Screen is the primarymonitoring screen for the BCA machines associated with a replicationHost. The BCA Machine Screen allows individual BCA writer statuses to beviewed as well as associated jobs. The BCA writer screen includes thefollowing features: Job Status 1102, Clicking on one of these tabsbrings Serialization the Job Status 1002, Serialization Data 1104, BCAData 1004, or BCA Machines 1006 Machines 1106 screen forward. tabs BCAWriter List A list of all the BCA writers at this 1302 replicationfacility. Selecting a BCA writer in the list will display detailedinformation about it in the Replication Facility Details portion of thewindow. Writer ID 1304 The ID or name of the selected BCA writer. WriterType 1306 The type of the BCA writer (currently Robi or Panasonic).Writer Internet The internet address of the BCA Address 1308 writer. Theformat should be in either a TCP/IP address format (192.168.100.1) oranother format (panasonic4.herndon.interactual.com) Communication Countof the communication failures to Failures 1310 the selected BCA writer.Details of each failure appear in the communications log. Clear Log 1312Clear the communication log for the selected replication facility. ClearCounts Clear communication failure count 1314 field for the selected BCAwriter. Test Tests communications to the selected Communications BCAwriter. The results of the test 1316 appear in the communication log.Communication Log of all communication between the Log 1318 job controlhost and the selected BCA writer.

[0108] A job control host database is maintained by each replicationfacility host. The job control host database is a database of all knownJob Control Hosts either remote or local. Job Control Host DatabaseFormat Field Field Name Type Example Job Control Host ID String HerndonInternet address String herndon.xyzzy.com Date/time Created TIME Oct 5,2000 11:05 am

[0109] A job/batch database is maintained by each replication facilityhost, and is a database of production jobs assigned to the replicationfacility host. The job/batch database contains the current state of eachjob, the number of batches each job contains, the number of batchesalready produced, etc. Job/Batch Database Format Field Field Name TypeExample Same fields as Job Database in Job Control Host Job/Batchspecific fields not sent to Job Control Host such as Operator ID

[0110] A BCA writer database is maintained by each replication facilityhost and is a database of BCA Writers under control of the replicationfacility host. The BCA writer database includes the following: BCAWriter Database Format Field Field Name Type Example BCA Writer IDString Panasonic7 Type String Panasonic Internet Address StringPanasonic7.herndon.xyzzy.com

[0111] The following is a description of a preferred serial numberstructure. This structure supports multiple individual records. Eachrecord immediately follows the previous one on single byte boundaries.The header for the overall BCA number contains a version number andlength field for an entire BCA data set, the date and time ofserialization, and the BCA writer used. Each individual record thencontains an owner & length field, which are standard, followed by ownerspecific data. Field Offset Description Size HEADER Version 0 Versionnumber of the overall 1 structure Length of 1 Length of this entire BCA1 BCA data data set in bytes Date/Time 2 Date & Timestamp of actual 4serialization Facility 6 Facility in which 2 serialization was performedBCA Writer 2 BCA machine on which BCA 2 written INDIVIDUAL RECORDS OwnerID N + 0 Source of record 2 Length N + 2 Length of this record, in 1bytes Data N + 3 Variable depending on owner r

[0112] The company specific record is an example of one of the aboveindividual records that contains overall information for companyspecific content, such as InterActual content, on the media, includingsub data sets for each individual “title” on the media. Version 1 of therecord contains no title specific sub-fields as no known data wouldexist and space is at a premium. Individual titles are sequential fromthe serial number of the first “title” on the disc (the serial number inthe record). There is reserved space for title specific data in thefield. INTERACTUAL SPECIFIC RECORD SIZE Owner ID +0 Set to 0x0001. 2Length N + 2 Length of all 1 InterActual sub- records. Version N + 3Version of the 1 InterActual record- Initial 0x01. Disc_ID N + 4InterActual Disc 3 identifier, unique by disc (collection of titles).Number of N + 5 Number of InterActual 1 titles titles on the disc.Ser_Num N + 8 InterActual unique 6 serial number across ALL InterActualtitles. If multiple InterActual titles are on the disc this is the firstone, and subsequent InterActual titles are incremented by one from thisID. Signature N + 14 Signature field- 20 signature is across ALL fieldsin the InterActual record.

[0113] Disk 1 Disk 2 Disk 3 Example with One Title Owner ID 1 1 1 Length34 34 34 Version 1 1 1 Disc_ID 1001 1001 1001 Number of titles 1 1 1Ser_Num 780092 780092 780092 3 4 5 Signature xxx xxx xxx Example withThree Titles Owner ID 1 1 1 Length 34 34 34 Version 1 1 1 Disc_ID 10011001 1001 Number of titles 3 3 3 Ser_Num 120001 120004 120007 Signaturexxx xxx xxx

[0114] While the invention herein disclosed has been described by meansof specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modificationsand variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A serialization management system comprising: ajob control host for assigning serial numbers to storage media, and forgenerating a job; a replication facility host communicatively coupled tothe job control host, wherein the job control host communicates the jobto the replication facility host; and a serialization writercommunicatively coupled to the replication facility host, wherein thereplication facility host controls the serialization writer in responseto the job, and communicates status information to the job control host.2. The serialization management system of claim 1 further comprising: aserialization writer console coupled to the serialization writer, theserialization writer console prompting the replication facility host fora batch by communicating a batch request to the replication facilityhost; wherein the replication facility host communicates to theserialization writer, in response to the batch request, batch data, thebatch data being generated by the replication facility host as afunction of the job.
 3. The serialization management system of claim 2wherein the serialization writer writes serialization onto media inresponse to the batch data.
 4. The serialization management system ofclaim 3 wherein the serialization writer writes a first serializationonto a first side of the media in response to the batch data, and writea second serialization onto a second side of the media in response tothe batch data.
 5. The serialization management system of claim 2wherein the serialization writer communicates a batch status to thereplication facility host from time to time.
 6. The serializationmanagement system of claim wherein the serialization writer communicatesthe batch status to the replication facility upon completion of a batch.7. The serialization management system of claim 2 further comprising: areplication facility host console communicatively coupled to thereplication facility host for receiving a job complete indicia, and forcommunicating the job complete indicia to the replication facility host;wherein the replication facility host generates a job complete status inresponse to the job complete indicia, and further wherein thereplication facility host communicates the job complete status to thejob control host.
 8. The serialization management system of claim 7wherein the job control host generates a confirmation in response to thejob complete status, and communicates a confirmation to the replicationfacility host in response thereto, the replication facility hostdeleting the job in response to the confirmation.
 9. The serializationmanagement system of claim 8 wherein the job control hosts exports thejob in response to receipt of the job complete status.
 10. Aserialization management method comprising: assigning serial numbers tostorage media in a job control host; generating a job in the job controlhost; communicating the job to a replication facility host; controllinga serialization writer in response to the job; and communicating statusinformation to the job control host.
 11. The serialization managementmethod of claim 10 further comprising: prompting the replicationfacility host for a batch by communicating a batch request to thereplication facility host; generating batch data at the replicationfacility host as a function of the job; and communicating to theserialization writer, in response to the batch request, the batch data.12. The serialization management method of claim 11 comprising: writingserialization onto media with the serialization writer in response tothe batch data.
 13. The serialization management method of claim 12wherein writing comprises writing a first serialization onto a firstside of the media in response to the batch data, and writing a secondserialization onto a second side of the media in response to the batchdata.
 14. The serialization management method of claim 11 comprising:communicating a batch status to the replication facility host from timeto time.
 15. The serialization management method of claim 14 comprising:communicating the batch status to the replication facility uponcompletion of a batch.
 16. The serialization management method of claim12 further comprising: receiving a job complete indicia at a replicationfacility console; communicating the job complete indicia to thereplication facility host; generating a job complete status in thereplication facility host in response to the job complete indicia; andcommunicating the job complete status to the job control host.
 17. Theserialization management method of claim 16 comprising: generating aconfirmation in response to the job complete status; communicating theconfirmation to the replication facility host in response thereto; anddeleting the job at the replication facility host in response to theconfirmation.
 18. The serialization management method of claim 17further comprising: exporting the job in response to receipt of the jobcomplete status.